More residents prepared for emergency

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More Southland households are heeding lessons learnt after the Canterbury earthquakes and have prepared for emergency events.

A survey conducted by Emergency Management Southland, involving 400 households across the province, shows 47 per cent of Southland homes have emergency plans and food supplies for a natural disaster such as an earthquake, tsunami or flood.

The survey also shows the proportion of Southland households with at least basic supplies on hand is much higher than 47 per cent.

In 2008, only 24 per cent of Southland households had three days' worth of emergency supplies.

Emergency Management Southland manager Neil Cruickshank said many Southlanders had made plans in the years following the Canterbury earthquakes but there were still some improvements to be made.

"A lot of people say they haven't got around to making plans or getting supplies in but . . . you can't plan back from the time [a disaster] happens. It's too late by then."

The body was aiming to have 55 per cent of Southland households signed on with an emergency plan, he said.

Residents in rural areas not used to having quick access to resources could be more resilient in an emergency, but they could still be caught out and needed to stay prepared, he said.